Barry Ord Clarke
Mickey Finn - Step by Step

The original of this famous fly pattern was simply called "Red and Yellow" and was popularised by the American John Alden Night, for fishing weat coast rainbow trout. In recent years it has adopted the name of a deadly cocktail, Mickey Finn, and has gained aclaim by salt water sea trout fishermen as one of their deadliest streamers.
When tying the Mickey Finn, make sure that you stagger cut the bucktail in order to get a nice finish to the head and that the upper wing is about the same amount of bucktail as the red mid wing and the yellow under wing combined.
 

Finished Fly	What you need: Hook: Thread: Body: Rib: Wing:  Head: Mustad Black 6/0 Gold flat tinsel Fine Oval silver tinsel Yellow, red, yellow - bucktail  Black
	1 Run tying thread along the full length of the hook shank until it hangs vertically in between the hook barb and point.
	2 Cut a section of fine oval tinsel (about 10-12 cm) and carefully tie in at hte but of the hook. Take care not to use to many turns thread as this will buidld up on the hook shank causing ti to give an uneven body when the flat tinsel is applied.
	3 Cut a 20 cm section of the flat tinsel (the new plastic type is best, as it is easier to apply and doesn't tarnish with age). You can trim the end diagonally as shown, this makes for easier and neater attachment to the hook.
	4 Tie the tinsel in as shown behind th ehook eye, again taking care not to make more than the necessary turns of tying thread. Now wind this back towards the but, making sure that each turn overlaps the last.
	5 Once you have reached the but revers the tinsel and return the wraps back towards where you started. Once you have reached the hook eye tie off the tinsel and trim the access.
	6 Now use 5 or 6 turns of the oval tinsel rib along the length of the body, trying to keep them evenly spaced. Tie off the tinsel and trim off the access.
	7 Select a small bunch of yellow bucktail for the under-wing and stack in a hair stacker so that all the tapered ends are level. Now trim the but ends of the bucktail diagonally as shown before tying in.
	8 Lie the under-wing along the top of the hook shank and tie in as shown so that the wing extends just over the length of the hook bend. Don't use too much bucktail, this is a common problem amonst beginners.
	9 Follow the instructions for 8 using the same amount as the yellow but red bucktail.
	10 Now select a little more yellow bucktail than you used for the red and tie in for the over-wing. Making sure all the time that each section of wing is of equal length. Make a couple of whip finish with a good head of black varnish. When varnishing a fly head coat once with a fine thin varnish, that will soak into the tying thread and into the wing buts holding everything tohether. Let this dry and then finish with a good heavy spirit varnish, again taking care not to let the varnish flow into the wing fibres.
	11 A typical English sea trout Mickey Finn fitted with a flying treble. This can be deadly for sea trout that take very gently or just bite at the tail of the fly, which can often be the case. Too make the flying treble Mickey Finn, attach a small treble to a length of plastic coated wire trace and secure this to the streamer hook before beginning to tie on the materials.

(c) photographs and text  Barry Ord Clarke